Looters attack diners at Michelin-starred Ledbury

Diners at the two Michelin-starred restaurant The Ledbury in Notting Hill were attacked by looters who stormed the dining room demanding jewellery and phones.

Gangs of masked youths wearing hoodies and wielding weapons smashed through the glass front door of the restaurant, ransacking the dining room before snatching jewellery.

Witnesses said that staff at the restaurant leapt to their defence, eventually managing to chase the intruders away with rolling pins and other kitchen implements. But a short while later the mob returned.

Restaurant staff ushered the stunned guests into other rooms before locking them in the wine cellar for their own safety.

Louise Yang, a programmer, had gone to the restaurant with her husband Will for a night out.

Today she described the horrific scenes on her blog page, and said her wedding and engagement ring were stolen.

She said: "The restaurant staff were yelling at us to get away from the windows. Before I knew it, the front door, a solid piece of glass, shattered and people came crashing in with hoodies, masks, and random weapons.

"The looters were yelling at us to get down and throwing stuff all over the place.

"I got down and started taking off my wedding and engagement ring to hide somewhere, but unfortunately wasn't fast enough."

She said the looter demanded a phone before grabbing her hand to try to "steal her rings".

She said: "The rings wouldn't come off and I just yelled at him that I'd take them off myself.

"In hindsight, now that I know that gun control is so fierce in England and he only had (a) bat, I should have held onto my rings better and maybe slugged him in the face."

After staff chased off the looters, guests were given glasses of alcohol including champagne and whisky to calm their nerves.

Once the looters had left for a second time, the guests were let out of the wine cellar and given petits fours.

Mrs Yang said: "I was kind of hoping to finish the rest of my tasting menu, but all the broken glass and turned-over tables probably wasn't conducive to a nice dining environment."

She said the staff had gone "well beyond their call of duty" in looking after the guests, adding: "I was sad for the wonderful smelling cheese cart which had glass littered all over it. So much cheese gone to waste!"

A restaurant spokeswoman confirmed the brutal invasion and said the restaurant could be open for lunch.